Shower moments
I had a shower thought this morning that I really should put down.
This is more Ammanach, so in the interests of avoiding making people completely bored ...
Magic is arcane in the dictionary definition, meaning strange, bizzare, not completely comprehensible; it has no constant save one: it eats you alive.
There are many "schools" of magic, differing philosophies and methodologies in the world, almost as many as there are practitioners of magic. (Which, it should be noted, are particularly rare.)
The three main types of magic are demonology, numerology, and divinity. Each uses similar mechanics, noted below.
Secret of the Magus
You can tap the aether, connect with the divine, or have contracted your soul in return for power. You gain an ability, Magistry, at 0. It can never be raised with advances, but allows you to use the Magistry skill to achieve intention. Further, you may "burn" 1 point of a pool to raise your skill in Magistry by 1 until the end of the round. You may never "burn" more than 3 points in this manner.
Burning pools
"Burning" is a concept I worked out to model the idea that magic rots you, no matter what kind of magic it may be. When you burn a point of a pool, you may never "burn" that point again. The point may be refreshed as normal for regular use, but may never be "burned" again. Once you "burn" your final point in a pool, the pool is refreshed, but lowered by 1 level. (Say I have 6 reason, and I "burn" my 6th point of reason. My reason immediately becomes a 5 and I can now begin to "burn" reason again. At least until my 5th point. Should your pool ever drop to 0 in this manner, you immediately experience a trancendance appropriate to your magical path. (Demonologists get sucked screaming into hell, Numerologists break down into their component ideals, and divine magicians are Called to their Diety.)
As a magus "burns" his magic, he gainst a stygma associated with his magical style. Demonologists gain blackish blood that seeps just under their pale, bluish skin, and black eyes that seem to suck in light. Numerologists begin to gain a nimbus of pale blue around them, and close to trancendance, motes of blue lights form arcane symbols and numbers, and raidiate around them in a halo of magical equations. Divine Magicians begin to take on aspects of their god, and speak with voices of otherworldly beauty or terror.
Optional Rule: Keep track of how high your pool would be if you didn't "burn;" If you burn your pool down and raise it later through advances, apply the cost of an advance according to what the pool would be if you hadn't burned.
Magistry
You have the power to rework reality according to your whim. You may manifest your intentions. Rather than using an ability (such as fight), you merely will your intention into existence. (such as "I will his heart to stop"). There are some limitations, depending on your particular style of Magic.
Limits
Here are some sample limitations. They are not definitive, but are listed in order to give an idea of the types of limitations that might exist. They are:
Demonology: Cannot will his own contract broken. Cannot coherse anyone without getting them to agree to it. (They don't have to realize what they're getting into, but they can't be forced to do something without agreeing to it in the first place). Cannot heal. Cannot affect certain holy symbols.
Numerology: Cannot create anything from nothing, nor cause anything to cease. Cannot affect prime numbers.
Divine: Cannot affect unbelievers. Cannot affect certain objects or actions considered unclean. Cannot cause physical harm.
This is more Ammanach, so in the interests of avoiding making people completely bored ...
Magic is arcane in the dictionary definition, meaning strange, bizzare, not completely comprehensible; it has no constant save one: it eats you alive.
There are many "schools" of magic, differing philosophies and methodologies in the world, almost as many as there are practitioners of magic. (Which, it should be noted, are particularly rare.)
The three main types of magic are demonology, numerology, and divinity. Each uses similar mechanics, noted below.
Secret of the Magus
You can tap the aether, connect with the divine, or have contracted your soul in return for power. You gain an ability, Magistry, at 0. It can never be raised with advances, but allows you to use the Magistry skill to achieve intention. Further, you may "burn" 1 point of a pool to raise your skill in Magistry by 1 until the end of the round. You may never "burn" more than 3 points in this manner.
Burning pools
"Burning" is a concept I worked out to model the idea that magic rots you, no matter what kind of magic it may be. When you burn a point of a pool, you may never "burn" that point again. The point may be refreshed as normal for regular use, but may never be "burned" again. Once you "burn" your final point in a pool, the pool is refreshed, but lowered by 1 level. (Say I have 6 reason, and I "burn" my 6th point of reason. My reason immediately becomes a 5 and I can now begin to "burn" reason again. At least until my 5th point. Should your pool ever drop to 0 in this manner, you immediately experience a trancendance appropriate to your magical path. (Demonologists get sucked screaming into hell, Numerologists break down into their component ideals, and divine magicians are Called to their Diety.)
As a magus "burns" his magic, he gainst a stygma associated with his magical style. Demonologists gain blackish blood that seeps just under their pale, bluish skin, and black eyes that seem to suck in light. Numerologists begin to gain a nimbus of pale blue around them, and close to trancendance, motes of blue lights form arcane symbols and numbers, and raidiate around them in a halo of magical equations. Divine Magicians begin to take on aspects of their god, and speak with voices of otherworldly beauty or terror.
Optional Rule: Keep track of how high your pool would be if you didn't "burn;" If you burn your pool down and raise it later through advances, apply the cost of an advance according to what the pool would be if you hadn't burned.
Magistry
You have the power to rework reality according to your whim. You may manifest your intentions. Rather than using an ability (such as fight), you merely will your intention into existence. (such as "I will his heart to stop"). There are some limitations, depending on your particular style of Magic.
Limits
Here are some sample limitations. They are not definitive, but are listed in order to give an idea of the types of limitations that might exist. They are:
Demonology: Cannot will his own contract broken. Cannot coherse anyone without getting them to agree to it. (They don't have to realize what they're getting into, but they can't be forced to do something without agreeing to it in the first place). Cannot heal. Cannot affect certain holy symbols.
Numerology: Cannot create anything from nothing, nor cause anything to cease. Cannot affect prime numbers.
Divine: Cannot affect unbelievers. Cannot affect certain objects or actions considered unclean. Cannot cause physical harm.